Musings on Mesothelioma

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#gratitude

Lately there has been a lot of talk about Gratitude, especially on Instagram. According to the eight million lifestyle gurus out there – who all seem to live surrounded by succulents, crystals and those white, fluffy IKEA bear rugs/throws – if we begin each day with our hearts full of gratitude, good things will come our way. Can we just please stop with this faux-spiritual crap? It’s enough already. Being grateful for what you have: loving friends, a roof over your head, food on the table, good health, a job – is hugely important. Those who are not grateful are basically just assholes. But the idea that gratitude is somehow an elixir that will allow light, beauty and positive experiences into our lives is a lie. The problem is that the truth just doesn’t sound as good, it’s not as hashtagable. The truth is that you can start your day full of gratitude – for your life and for everyone and everything in it – AND tremendously shitty things will still happen to you and your loved ones.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the idea of gratitude as a magical potion. It is vaguely comforting, like drinking a glass of wine while swaddled in a velour blanket. And, full disclosure, I own three crystals – I bought them at one of those Witchy Woman type stores, the kind that offer workshops on making your own moon juice. I bought the crystals because I thought they were pretty to look at, although I tried to tell myself that I was buying them for their healing properties. They sit next to my succulents, which are the only plants I can seem to keep alive. But as someone with cancer, I find the whole Gratitude Movement annoying and kind of insulting. The truth is that no matter how much gratitude you bathe yourself in, life is completely random, some of it is just plain horrible and much of it is out of our control. Yet, in many ways this truth is magical. Because in all of its harshness it quickly simplifies things. The shades of grey disappear and POUF! life becomes more starkly black and white – it can be freeing. You become a better editor of your life. For me, these editor conversations sound something like this:

Do I want to spend my evening with a woman who will only talk about herself for three hours? No, no I don’t.

Do I want to go to a party when I’m not feeling well just because I’m expected to go? Nope.

Do I want to make sure that my partner and I travel somewhere wonderful this summer while I am still healthy-ish? Hell yes!

That said, I think we should all use whatever tools and whatever bag of tricks we have to help us move through life with as much ease as possible. And I definitely think that gratitude is essential. Also, it’s entirely possible that I’m just envious of all those who truly believe in the Gratitude-Crystals-Succulents-IKEA Bear Rug/Throw Religion. I think I secretly want to be one of them. But I just can’t. I like the look, I like the idea of it, but I just don’t buy it. #butistillwantoneofthoseIKEAbearrugs